Tabs

8/31/2010

Crazy Love...

I have to say, I got to this party a little late. Almost everyone I know had already read (and loved) this book, but I had avoided it. Although, I'm not sure why. And, honestly, one of the big reasons why I bought it was that it was the best/cheapest book I could find upon my initial search of Kindle books. But boy, oh boy, am I glad I picked it up.

What Francis Chan has here is an incredibly simple, yet incredibly profound, book that would serve as a great read (or discussion starter) for anyone.

I wanted to make sure that I recorded some of the passages that made me pause and think, as well as some thoughts on each, so that I could remember them in the future...

"In our world, where hundreds of things distract us from God, we have to intentionally and consistently remind ourselves of Him." This is a great reminder of why developing spiritual disciplines (like daily Bible reading, prayer, solitude to be with God, etc.) is so important. In a world filled with distractions, a person with mega-ADD like me doesn't stand a chance without discipline...

"If life were stable, I'd never need God's help. Since it's not, I reach out for Him regularly. I am thankful for the unknowns and that I don't have control, because it makes me run to God." This one knocked me for a loop. On one hand, I struggle with the unknown. At heart, I love to imagine I'm in control and have a say in how the universe operates. But on the other hand, I recognize that it's been during the crazy times of my life that I've run hardest to God. So how can I hate on the hard times? They've been responsible for some serious spiritual growth in my life...

"The greatest knowledge we can ever have is knowing God treasures us." I'm not sure anything gets any better than this...

"The irony is that while God doesn't need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don't really want Him most of the time. He treasures us and anticipates our departure from this earth to be with Him-and we wonder, indifferently, how much we have to do for Him to get by." Wow. This may be the best example of a truth that hurts, ever. I think this might be a result of living your life trying to follow rules rather than living in a relationship...

"As we begin to focus more on Christ, loving Him and others becomes more natural. As long as we are pursuing Him, we are satisfied in Him. It is when we stop actively loving Him that we find ourselves restless and gravitating toward other means of fulfillment." It's like two forces battling with each other. When one rises, the other falls, and vice versa...

"Jesus is saying that we show tangible love for God in how we care for the poor and those who are suffering. He expects us to treat the poor and the desperate as if they were Christ Himself." In today's world, it's very popular to be passionate about social justice. But this is a definition of social justice that I can really get behind...

"The average Christian in the United States spends ten minutes per day with God; meanwhile, the average American spends over four hours a day watching television." I have no idea if this stat is true. But if it is, it makes me sick. It especially makes me sick to realize that this is true right now in my life...